Huggins Hospital will celebrate National Emergency Nurses Week

Saturday

Oct 6, 2012 at 3:15 AM

WOLFEBORO – October 5, 2012: Please join Huggins Hospital in recognizing all of the dedicated nurses who provide 24/7 care in the Emergency Department during National Emergency Nurses Week, October 7-13. This year’s theme, “Every Patient + Every Time = Making a Difference” reflects the dedication of emergency nurses here at Huggins Hospital, throughout the United States, and around the world. “Everyone was very personable and professional – they made us feel comfortable and at ease during a stressful time.” “Thank you for the high level medical care and kind and compassionate care we all received when our son was in the Emergency Department. We are grateful to all.” “I came into the hospital in severe pain. The nurse who helped take care of me was nice, considerate, and fast. She is very skilled at what she does and is an excellent nurse.” These are just a few examples of the notes we receive at Huggins Hospital about the care patients have received in the Emergency Department (ED). Every hour of every day people of all ages come into the Huggins Hospital ED with a wide range of medical issues from sprains and ear infections to severe trauma. The Nurse in the ED has to be ready to handle any situation that arises. Their days are completely unpredictable and therefore they have to be flexible and able to change what they are doing at any given moment. “Patients come through the door experiencing a medical issue whether it’s an illness or injury and it can be frightening, especially as patients don’t know the extent of their illness or injury,” said Stacey Savage, RN, Director of Emergency Services. “Being able to help them as an Emergency Nurse is very powerful. It is a constant mental and physical challenge. No two hours are the same.” In a typical shift, a Nurse may begin their day caring for sprains and strains and then have to rapidly switch gears and care for a trauma patient. As a rural hospital, the Huggins Hospital Emergency Nurses have a strong commitment to serving their community with the utmost professionalism. Often seeing a familiar face came make all the difference for the patient during a stressful time. To handle such a wide range of medical issues requires a high degree of ongoing education. “Our ED nurses show an incredible dedication to their profession with the amount of continuing education they pursue. They make a lifelong commitment to learning,” said Savage. Emergency Medicine requires strong teamwork. Members of the Huggins Hospital ED include Physicians, Nurses, LNA’s, EMT’s, Paramedics, Health Unit Coordinators, Patient Registration and the volunteers who help ensure quality care. As a rural, community hospital most patients can be treated in the ED. However, for severe cases, patients can be stabilized at Huggins and be quickly transferred to a major trauma or cardiac facility. The new hospital has a dedicated helipad for medical helicopters and a separate ambulance entrance. In those cases, a rural hospital can mean the difference between life and death for a patient who may not be able to travel the distance to a larger facility. Huggins Hospital would like to recognize and thank our emergency nurses: Ingrid Albee, RN, CEN, Judy Cardinal, RN, Karen Curtis, RN, Rita Essig, RN, Patricia Fichter, RN, Katee Foley, RN, Ellie Guilmette, RN, Georgeann Harris, RN, Helen Jenckes, RN, Donna Kasianchuk, RN, Andrea Keslar, RN, Sheryl McCullough, RN, Susan Michalski, RN, Patricia Norcross, RN, Norma Jean Richardson, RN, Paul St. Martin, RN, Michelle Stanton, RN, Sherri Thomas, RN, Sharlene Wiley, RN, Megan Winslow, RN, and Helen Wisniewski, RN. In turn, the Huggins Hospital Emergency Nurses would like to recognize and thank the entire Emergency Department team of physicians, paramedics, EMT’s, LNA’s, health unit coordinator, patient registrars, and volunteers. We hope the communities served by Huggins Hospital will join us in thanking the Emergency Department nurses who work around the clock every day throughout the year to provide compassionate and knowledgeable health care when it is needed the most.